While the prior are is replete with toy or mechanical animal devices, as can be seen by reference to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,095,646; 2,218,065; 2,801,104; 2,988,847 and 3,997,157; these devices fall far short of duplicating the motions of the "mechanical bull", that was prominently featured in the movie "Urban Cowboy".
The actual rodeo training device that was depicted in the movie, formed the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 3,997,979, and this device has subsequently enjoyed its own commercial success, and as a result of popular demand, can be found in numerous night spots throughout the country.
The mechanical motions, that distinguish the actual device from the prior art toys, are the combination of rotary and reciprocal movements, on a continuous and/or sequential basis.
All of the prior art toy mechanical animals seem to have either a solely vertical reciprocal motion or a solely rotary motion. Neither of these motions alone produces a visual effect, which even remotely resembles the actual rodeo training device, upon which the present invention is based.
Due to the widespread popularity enjoyed by the mechanical bull, it is surprising that to date no one has been able to develop a toy, which closely simulates the movements of the actual device.
As a result of the foregoing, the device which forms the basis of the present invention was developed, and the end result is a toy mechanical bull which closely approximates the combined rotary and reciprocal movements employed in the actual device.